London - Nearly a third of girls are unhappy with their appearance, official figures show.
Looks are the biggest worry for older children and young teenagers, according to the report by the Office for National Statistics.
A quarter of those aged 11 to 15 were unhappy about their appearance and fewer than one in five said they were entirely happy with it.
Girls were worst affected – almost a third were “not at all happy” with their looks, compared to a fifth of boys. The findings underline fears over the pressures on youngsters that can lead to eating disorders.
A study last year showed girls as young as 12 skipped meals to be skinnier.
Another large-scale study carried out by the Children’s Society charity last year also found that “a substantial proportion of children have concerns about their appearance... with over a third saying that they often worry about the way that they look.”
The findings were based on questionnaires answered by children aged between 11 and 15 as part of the UK government’s £2-million-a-year attempt to chart the nation’s happiness.
The youngsters were asked how they felt about their family, friends, school and schoolwork, and their appearance.
Just 19 percent said they were completely happy with their appearance, and 25 percent indicated they were unhappy about the way they looked.
Unhappiness with appearance was deeper than unhappiness with school or school work - fewer than one in five children and teenagers registered unhappiness at school.
Worries were deepest among girls. bout 29 percent of 11-15-year-old girls were not at all happy with their appearance, compared to only 20 percent of boys.
The ONS report said that nearly nine out of 10 children and young teenagers were relatively happy with their lives overall and only one in 25 admitted to being relatively unhappy.
It added: “A much higher proportion reported being completely happy with their friends and family than with their school, their school work or, particularly, their appearance.”
General contentment with friends and family - more than nine out of 10 among both boys and girls expressed satisfaction with them - eroded when children were asked about school.
Nearly one in five suggested they were less than happy with both school and school work.
Girls - whose educational achievements have overhauled those of boys over the past two decades - were happier at school than boys, just. Around 83 percent of girls declared themselves at least relatively happy at school, against 81 percent of boys.
However there was a greater gap between girls and boys over school work. About 84 percent of girls were at least relatively happy over their school work, compared to 78 percent of boys.
The ONS report said: “Boys were more likely than girls to report being happy with their life overall, their friends and their appearance, while girls were more likely than boys to report being happy with their school work.” - Daily Mail